Celtics beginning challenging stretch by facing the Magic

Their schedule dating back to the beginning of December has not exactly been packed with NBA powerhouses.

The Boston Celtics have played 25 games since the start of last month, and only 10 of those opponents had winning records when they met.

The strength of the schedule, however, is about to be dialed up a few notches for the Celtics.

Between tonight and Sunday afternoon, the Celtics will play three of the teams situated in the top seven of the overall standings in the most challenging trio of games this season.

For starters, there are road games on back-to-back nights against the Orlando Magic tonight (8:05, TV: TNT; radio: WEEI-850 AM) and the Atlanta Hawks on Friday followed by the annual Boston visit by the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

As if all of that isn’t enough, the Celtics are playing a fourth game in five days — always a difficult test of endurance — in Washington against the Wizards on Monday night.

“Of the four games,’’ said Coach Doc Rivers, “that may wind up being the toughest one because I don’t know how you play that game after those three you’re going through.’’

Two games into Kevin Garnett’s return following a 10-game absence due to a hyperextended right knee, the Celtics have a midseason exam on the agenda.

They take a two-game winning streak into the difficult stretch after losing eight of the previous 12 and have the opportunity to build some momentum with the All-Star break looming on the horizon.

Rivers, however, said he won’t put much stock into what happens between now and early next week, no matter how big the hype gets and even though he jokingly calls the next three games, “the gauntlet.’’

“You want to win them,’’ said Rivers. “They’re special games because they are against those teams and it makes it a lot of fun. Having said that, you can’t use it as a measuring stick, at least I never do, because you don’t know what those other teams are going through during the regular season.

“The Lakers are on a long road trip, Orlando could be playing well or not well, same with Atlanta. But in the playoffs, you’re getting their best and so it’s different. As far as at this moment, I guess you could say it’s a measuring stick for this moment, but it won’t matter when you get to the playoffs.’’

The Celtics (29-13 with the third fewest losses in the league) are trying to find some consistency after a first half that was not smooth, mainly because of a rash of injuries.

They are looking to build on wins over the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers with the Magic, Hawks and Lakers posing hefty challenges.

“I think we’re improving,’’ said Rivers. “I told our guys what I enjoyed about (Monday) night’s game is that I thought we were a better team after the game was over. Honestly, that’s all I look at right now.

“The whole momentum thing, I’m not looking at that. I’m looking at, ‘Did we improve or did we stand still?’ (Monday) night’s game, we took a step forward in a lot of little areas — movement wise (on offense), intensity on defense. That’s what we’ve got to keep doing. Our job is to get better every game until the playoffs start.’’

Said Garnett: “We don’t need certain games to measure us, I don’t think. Every time we step on the floor, we try to get better.’’

The Magic (29-16) will try to avenge a Christmas Day loss at home to the Celtics, who were playing without Paul Pierce.

The defending Eastern Conference champions have had trouble with consistency and have dropped eight of the last 13 games. The Magic will test the Celtics’ defense with their long-range shooting and the inside presence of Dwight Howard.

With little rest, the Celtics will be in Atlanta on Friday, trying to avoid a four-game sweep at the hands of the Hawks. The Celtics haven’t lost four games to Atlanta in a season since 1995-96. The 2006-07 Detroit Pistons were the last team to go 4-0 against Boston.

Two of the Celtics’ losses to the Hawks came earlier this month when Garnett was sidelined, and Rasheed Wallace missed one of the games. Still, the Hawks are a matchup problem for the Celtics with their youth and athleticism.

“We’ve been up in two of the three games and had chances to win,’’ said Rivers. “The game (on Jan. 11), I get thrown out with a 10-point lead and that didn’t help. We didn’t handle the second half very well.

“They’re a heckuva basketball team. They’re athleticism and their ability to make shots after they’re out of their sets is probably the most difficult thing. They’re the best at that in the league.

“Usually, it’s the Lakers because they have Kobe (Bryant) to throw it to when the play breaks down and he may score. Atlanta has three or four guys they can throw it to and they’ll break you down. That’s makes them different than almost every team in the league.’’

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